Not Like This
by lovecamedown
Summary: "You fell asleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Mads." But just as I started to turn and walk away, I felt her hand come out and grab mine. And then she murmured, "you said you'd stay." / Maddy is upset that Rhydian is moving out, and they have to come to terms with the change. But they didn't know they would end up spending the night together. / Oneshot between 2.05 and 2.06. / Canon.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Wolfblood.

* * *

 **Rhydian's POV**

"Why would you do this?" Maddy asked, her brow furrowed as she stood at her front door. Her parents were standing in front of Maddy and I, boxes in their arms.

"Maddy, pet, it wasn't us…" Emma started.

But Maddy cut them off. I guessed that the anger was just coming to the surface now; at first, when we'd arrived seeing them with my boxes in their arms, Maddy had just mainly been shocked. But now I could sense her starting to feel angry.

"Well how could you _let_ this happen!?" Maddy cried, flailing her arms around like she did when she was ranting about something.

"Mads…" I started, but she wouldn't stop to listen.

"No, Rhydian! You shouldn't have to say anything! This shouldn't be happening!"

"Maddy, listen to us when we say that we—"

"How can you just stand there with Rhydian's boxes in your arms, telling us he's having to move out just like that without any warning!? You know what Rhydian's been through!"

I appreciated that she was trying to defend me, but her parents were getting more and more uncomfortable, I could sense it, and honestly I didn't want to be caught in the middle of Maddy and her parents…

"Maddy, calm down, it's okay…" I tried to soothe her a little.

But she wouldn't budge. "No, Rhydian! It's not okay! Mam, I can't believe you would let this happen. How do you think this is going to make Rhydian feel?" It was clearly a rhetorical question, and she folded her arms over her chest indignantly. Just as Emma was going to defend herself again, Maddy threw her hands up in the air. "You know what? I don't want your excuses. This is ridiculous."

And then she turned on her heel and ran away, in to the woods, going so fast that she was gone from sight within seconds.

I didn't really have a choice to think about this, so I instantly turned around too and begun chasing after her, following her scent which was still strong.

In the background, I heard Emma and try to call me back and tell me it was best to leave her, but I didn't want to leave Maddy that worked up on her own in the forest. She needed to let off steam, but she also needed to talk.

And, without sounding arrogant, I knew that she probably wanted to be with me, seeing as I was apparently moving out pretty soon…

"Mads!" I called after her once I eventually caught up with her. She was running fast with her back to me, but when she heard me, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face me. Even from a few metres away, I could see the tears on the edges of her eyes that were glowing yellow.

"Mads," I said again, softer now as I finally reached her, slowing my pace to a jog before I stopped. We were both out of breath. She was looking at me with a wrinkled forehead and sad eyes.… I didn't like her being upset when I couldn't fix it.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Maddy shook her head. Her fists were clenched at her sides. "I'm angry. It's not fair, Rhydian. It's just…it's not fair. Why should you have to move out?"

I shrugged and shook my head too. "I don't know, Mads. I'm guessing social services found out…,"

"But why now? And mam and dad should have been able to stop that from happening. They should have contacted the Wolfloods in authority. They should've been able to…"

" _Mads_ ," I reached out for her, pulling her close so I could hug her. "Calm down." I said quietly. Then I felt her wrap her arms around my waist and put her face in to my chest. She was crying a little now, but I knew it was angry tears more than anything else.

For a few minutes we just stood there, arms around each other, my hand sitting on the back of her head comfortingly.

"Are _you_ okay, Rhydian?" Maddy asked, pulling away from me and wiping her cheeks with her sleeve. Her eyes had returned to their normal colour now.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? They shouldn't be allowing you to be shoved from place to place…you'd just started settling…"

I shrugged one shoulder. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Maddy frowned further. "I…don't…don't say that." She looked down.

I took a step towards her and reached out for her hand. "It's not your fault," I tried to reassure her, but her eyes were still on the floor, and her forehead was still wrinkled sadly. "I _know_ it's not your fault. It's just one of these things, Maddy. I'm used to it."

"But you shouldn't _have_ to be used to it."

"But I am," I shrugged. "And it's not your fault. Don't feel guilty."

"I…I don't think I do. I'm just angry. And upset. I don't like the idea of you having to go through another change," she said quietly. She knew how much all the moving around had affected me when I was younger; she was really the only person I'd told about how messed up it had made me.…

Maddy continued, "I don't want you to be hurt. And I…I like you living with us, Rhydian. I like you…being there. All the time," she looked up at me tentatively from under her eyelashes without moving her head. For some reason she seemed hesitant to tell me that.

"I like being around you all the time too," I admitted, smiling a little. I squeezed her hand. "And just because I'm moving out now, it doesn't mean we won't see each other."

"But we won't be around each other all the time. You're going to have to get used to not being around other Wolfbloods again…this isn't fair on you! You belong with your pack, Rhydian!"

"I know, but we can't exactly explain that to social services, can we?"

Looking down, Maddy shook her head. "No."

What I really wanted to do was lean forward and kiss her forehead…or her cheek, or her lips…

I knew that totally couldn't happen, though; and although we were pretty used to interacting with each other in ways that "just friends" don't usually (the lines between your wolf and your human interactions become blurred after a while…), lips had never been involved. Teeth and tongues, yes, but in a completely different way than what _humans_ would assume if we told them that…

"Look, Rhydian, you didn't have to chase after me," she said suddenly, breaking me out of my extremely inappropriate thoughts.

"I kind of did. I didn't want you to be upset and on your own."

She smiled sadly. "Thanks, Rhydian."

"And listen, Mads, it'll all be OK. Just because I won't be at home with you, doesn't mean I won't be there for you."

"Same goes for you. I'm always here for you, you know that. Anytime."

"I know."

Smiling, she squeezed my hand. She was looking right in to my eyes and, man, did those dark brown eyes drive me crazy. I could've stared in to them forever.

"We should probably go back," I said after a few minutes. "Your parents will send out a search party."

Maddy chuckled. "Do we have to?"

"Sorry, Mads, but I think we do."

"I don't want you to move out, Rhydian." She squeezed my hand and stepped even closer, so much so that her face was just inches from mine. She was looking up at me with a look in her eyes that I barely recognised. They were looking deep in to mine, as if she were trying to tell me something.

"I don't want to either. But we don't really have much of a choice here, do we?"

Sighing, Maddy shook her head. "No. I suppose we don't," she said. "Stupid foster system."

I smirked. The amount of times I'd said _that_ under my breath…

* * *

I got to the Vaughans and it was already getting dark; I think Mrs. Vaughan wanted to chat with me and almost reacquaint herself with me, but it was dark and it was after dinner and I think she could tell I just wanted to retire to my room.

I kept seeing Maddy's face as the car had driven away that afternoon. Her forehead had been wrinkled and her eyes sad, and she was giving me that look again; the one that felt like she was trying to say something to me. Honestly, I think I knew what she was saying, and I think she knew that I was saying it back – we were good at sensing things in each other; more so than other people – but her face was just playing in my mind over and over again.

For most of the evening I was up in my room unpacking a bit and texting Maddy. Soon, it was 10.30pm, and I was sitting on top of my bed, my head resting against the headboard.

 _'_ _I miss you already x'_ Maddy texted.

I smiled bittersweetly at my phone. _'I miss you too xx'_

 _'_ _It's not the same without you here:('_

And I knew what she meant.

Some nights, back when I lived with them, once everyone else was asleep I would sneak in to Maddy's room or vice-versa and we would talk for another hour or watch Netflix without her parents knowing. We'd been working our way through Pretty Little Liars; Maddy was too scared to watch it at night on her own, especially the Halloween episodes. I liked being able to have her close to me; at night, when we were tired and sleepy, lines between our wolf and our human were blurred even more and we would always hold each other close like we did when we were wolves. We'd have our arms around each other and nuzzle each other every once in a while, keeping our scents close. I felt so at home with her that it never felt wrong.

But now, we were both in our beds, _alone_ , with our scents far away.

I pushed myself off my bed and reached in to the box on my bedside table, bringing out the T-shirt Maddy had handed me before I'd driven away. She said she'd been sleeping in it for a week and it would smell like her, so that I could still have her scent near me.  
I used to think it made me clingy, the fact that I needed her scent; but then I came to learn that it was perfectly normal for Wolfbloods, especially those as close as us, and that she felt the same about me, too.

 _'_ _I know:('_

 _'_ _Mam and dad are asleep…'_

I smiled down at my phone. Glancing at the window, I began to type my reply. I knew what she was getting at.

But before I could respond, my phone buzzed again, and I looked down to find another message from her.

 _'_ _Can you come over? I can sneak you in…'_

I smiled wider. _'10 minutes. xx'_

I grabbed my coat, a T-shirt from a box, slipped my shoes on, silently opened my window and then jumped out, landing noiselessly on the ground below.

And when I got to Maddy's house, she had obviously smelled me because the window opened when I was still on the ground. She motioned with her head for me to climb up, so I scaled the wall with the help of a nearby tree.

"Hey," I said when I reached her windowsill. She smiled a little, stepping back to let me in. "You alright?" Dusting off my jeans, I shut the window behind me.

She nodded. "I am now."

I smiled and stepped towards her. "Are you really okay? You look tired."

"I am, but I'm okay. You look tired too."

"I am. I don't think I can come to Blackpool tomorrow either, Mads. Your parents said I need to reacquaint myself with the Vaughans."

Maddy didn't bother to resist rolling her eyes, and she surprised me by stepping forward and wrapping her arms around my waist with no hesitation, pressing her face in to my chest.

Smiling softly to myself, I put my arms around her and buried my face in to her hair, inhaling her scent.

"You sure you're okay?" I brought my hand up to the back of her head, smoothing over her hair.

I felt her nod. She was pressing the side of her face right in to me and holding me tight, and not one bit of me was complaining. "I'm just annoyed at me parents. They're acting like this isn't a big deal."

"Maybe it isn't to them."

"But it is to me," she held me tighter. I put my head further in to her neck. "And they're acting like I shouldn't even be upset."

I continued to stroke her hair comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay."

She sighed. "I know."

"We're still going to see each other. It's not like I'm going away for good."

"No, I—I know, but I loved having you around. I loved staying up late with you watching Netflix, I loved seeing you in the morning when I first woke up, I loved walking to school with you…"

"I know," I said softly. "We can still walk to school together. We can meet in the woods."

"It still won't be the same," she pulled away and her eyes were brimmed with tears again, and I could tell she wasn't feeling herself tonight. She was tired and angry and probably a bit upset too, being made worse by the fact she was tired. It had been a long day.

I wanted to do all I could to take the pain away.

"We'll adjust, I promise," hesitantly, I reached out and gently took her hand in mine. And when I did, a tear fell out of her eye and on to her cheek, and I reached up to gently wipe it away with the back of my finger.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying. I feel so stupid right now." She laughed, but it was humourless and embarrassed. I let my hand fall from her cheek.

"It's okay," I smiled gently, watching as she looked down and shook her head. "You're tired, Mads. You should get some sleep. Things always seem worse when you're tired."

"I know."

"I'll leave you to sleep," I started to let go of her hand, but she grabbed it tighter and looked up at me again.

"No," she said firmly. And when she spoke again, her voice was more timid. "Stay. Please."

Smiling softly, I squeezed her hand. "Are you sure your parents won't find out?" I stepped closer to her.

She shook her head. "I don't care if they do."

"Aren't you the rebel."

Smiling mischievously, Maddy walked over to her desk and grabbed her laptop. "Always have been."

"I know."

"Netflix?"

I nodded once. "Netflix."

"Oh, Mads?" I started, and she stopped, turning around to face me with a curious look on her face. Reaching in to my back pocket, I fished out the T-shirt I'd grabbed before coming over and tossed it in her direction.

She caught it and looked down at it in her hand.

"My T-shirt," I told her, smiling a little, "thought I'd return the favour."

Maddy smiled down at the T-shirt and then brought it up to her nose, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly.

"Turn around." She said after a moment.

"What?"

"Turn around." She repeated. I did as I was told and turned around, and in my peripheral vision I saw her pyjama top being tossed to the side of her room. And, when she told me I could turn back around again, she was already grabbing her laptop.

She'd put my T-shirt on. I smiled. It was way too big for her, coming down to just above her knees and the sleeves covering her elbows. But she looked adorable and cosy, and I couldn't believe I'd never lent her one of my T-shirts before; she looked so cute and comfortable, and it made me want to hold her even more than usual.

"Come on. Let's watch. I want to find out what happens to Emily."

"I saw a spoiler online."

"What!?"

"Don't worry. I won't tell you." I smirked.

We settled down on her bed as we usually did; her laptop sitting at the end of the mattress and Maddy holding the wireless mouse to control it. There wasn't much space on her bed so we always pressed up against each other and put our arms around each other. This time, though, she seemed to be holding me a lot closer, and she put her head comfortably in my neck as we watched her laptop. My chin was resting on her head, and I'd occasionally move my lips and nose down on to her hair, nuzzling there with my eyes still on the screen (mostly. Sometimes I'd close my eyes and just let myself get a bit lost.… She didn't seem to mind).

 **Maddy's POV**

His scent was so close. His lips were on my hair half the time. His skin was so warm and I was so close to him. I didn't want it to end; I didn't want to focus on anything else.

Usually, these things didn't distract me from what we were watching, but tonight, things felt different. I felt like I was letting myself get lost in Rhydian; in every part of him. In his scent. His warmth. In the curve of his arm around my body and the creases in his stomach that my hand was sitting on. I wasn't even watching the screen a lot of the time; I was too busy tracing my finger over every part of his stomach and chest, trying to memorise what it felt like, or moving my nose up to press against his neck, making sure his scent stayed all around me.

And I guess he was letting himself get lost, too, because he kept his lips against my hair for ages, and with his finger he was tracing circles on my shoulders and occasionally my neck. His hands were warm and he was holding me so tight against him.

It felt so nice. It was making me feel sleepy.

Especially when he started running his fingers through my hair, right from the top to the ends.

"Mmm," I mumbled in appreciation, unable to keep it inside how good it felt. "Nice."

He kept doing it.

And I guess, somewhere during the episode that was still playing on my laptop, I fell asleep.

 **Rhydian's POV**

I had been tuned in to Maddy's heartbeat that whole time, and soon after I had started playing with her hair (more like running my whole hand through every strand repeatedly. She didn't seem to mind that I was losing the will to hold on to my self control), her heart rate slowed its pace a little, and so did her breathing.

Looking down at her, I saw that her eyes were closed, her nose still pressed right against my neck.

I smirked. She'd fallen asleep.

Quietly, I lifted my foot up and used it to close the laptop. Then I took the mouse out of her hands, and that's when the tricky bit started.

Ever so slowly I managed to untangle myself from Maddy (literally, _so slowly_ ; it must have taken me five minutes) without waking her up, and I took the laptop off the end of the mattress and slid it under her bed. Carefully, I began to pull the duvet out from underneath her so I could tuck her under it; but no matter how careful I was being, she still seemed to stir.

She mumbled something incomprehensible and then began to move a little.

"Rhydian?" She asked, her voice croaky and husky. Her eyes weren't open enough that she could see and it didn't look like she was going to make the effort to open them.

I stepped forward just as I'd managed to get the duvet out from underneath her. Gently, I put my hand on her arm so she knew I was still there.

"Shh," I brushed some hair out of her face and then lifted the covers over her, being sure to gently tuck her in. "You fell asleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Mads."

But just as I started to turn and walk away, I felt her hand come out and grab mine. As I turned back around I saw that her eyes were half open now.

And then she murmured, "you said you'd stay."

I smiled gently. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

I wasn't sure if what she did next was because she was tired and vulnerable, or whether all of a sudden she'd gained a new confidence, but either way she nodded sleepily and patted the bed next to her before pulling the duvet open. She shuffled over, making space for me. Her eyes were closed again now.

"Are…are you sure, Mads?"

"Yes."

Tentatively, I started to get in next to her, not taking my eyes off of her beautiful, sleepy face for a second.  
As soon as the covers were back over us, Maddy shuffled forward and straight away put her face against my neck. Her nose was cold. Her breath wasn't.

This was new territory for me. Sure, we'd spent nights awake, talking or watching Netflix, but we'd always retire back to our rooms before going to sleep. We'd never actually _slept_ together before, in the same bed, this close. Let alone with Maddy's face pressed in to my neck and her arm around my waist, letting her fingers sit against the bare skin at the bottom of my back where my top had risen.

"You're allowed to hold me too, Rhydian," she mumbled, and her voice was so drowsy that I couldn't be sure she wasn't asleep.

Hesitantly I brought my arm around her body, holding her close to me. And then I put my face in to her neck, too, after gently moving her hair out of the way. As much as I loved her hair, I wanted to smell her scent as strong as possible.

"You know," she started minutes later, and I could feel her voice on my skin. "Today, Tom thought you and Jana might be going out."

I couldn't hold back an incredulous laugh. I think the suddenness of it made her jump a bit, but I felt her smile against my neck. "What? Why?"

"Because I knew something was up. And I was asking Tom if he knew anything, and he said he wondered if you might be dating."

"Um, _no_ ," I said, laughing nervously now. "We're really not."

"…You…you don't think she fancies you though?"

"What?" I questioned. "No. Not at all."

"I think she does."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's so obvious. How do you not know?" She laughed a little and nuzzled her face against my skin, her eyes still closed.

Shrugging one shoulder, I rested my chin on top of her head. "I don't know," I said. And then I pulled her in closer, and I was surprised when she tangled her legs with mine under the covers whilst wrapping her arm tighter around me. "I guess I just…have my mind set on something else.… Some _one_ else. Maybe."

She smiled again. "Anyone I know?"

Grinning knowingly, I brought my hand up and started running it through her hair again. "You may or may not know her very well. Like a sister, in fact. Maybe even the same person. Just maybe."

Maddy giggled and I smiled at the sound; it was the first time she'd laughed out of genuine happiness all day since we'd shown up at her front door this afternoon. I brought my lips down to leave a quick kiss on the top of her head, and then I let my nose settle against her hair.

"Get some sleep," I whispered after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

She held me tighter, her hand coming up around my shoulder and holding on to the fabric of my T-shirt.

"I don't want to sleep." She whispered. Her breath was warm against my skin, and it drove me just a little crazy.

"You fell asleep a minute ago just fine."

"I want to make the most of you being here. To talk to. It's not going to happen again."

"It never quite happens _this_ way." I smiled gently. We were pressed right against each other now and holding each other so tightly. Every minute that passed was going too fast; I wanted to stay like this forever. For more than just a night, at least.

"I wish it did." She admitted, her voice suddenly quieter and more tentative.

I just held her tighter for a moment and kissed the top of her head again.

And then somewhere along the line of me playing with her hair and her nuzzling her nose in to my neck a lot, we both fell asleep. Honestly, it was the best sleep I'd had in a long time. Maybe the best sleep I'd _ever_ had. Clearly, having Maddy's scent so close to me and actually in person had helped my brain to relax.…

…

But, alas, I woke up as the sun was beginning to rise and streaming through Maddy's red curtains, and I'm almost glad I did because when I looked at the clock I saw that it was almost 6am. I knew I needed to get back to the Vaughans – they'd always been early risers – and because the rest of the pack was going to Blackpool today, they'd probably be leaving early to get there in time.

Reluctantly, I began to untangle my legs from hers, and that's when Maddy woke up too.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes not opening yet. "What time is it?" She asked drowsily, rubbing her eyes, and I wasn't sure if she was even fully awake or not.

"Almost 6 in the morning."

And then her eyes slowly flickered open, and suddenly her whole body tensed as she realised the position we were in. Awkwardly, she started moving away from me; she removed her arms first and then shuffled back.

"Sorry," she said, not quite looking at me.

I touched her arm, stopping her from moving any further. "Why are you sorry? I asked. I was still sleepy, and I could tell my eyes were only half awake, and my hair was going off at all angles.

"I…I'm sorry for making you stay last night. You didn't have to do that. And for, you know…being so close to you and everything. I—I didn't mean to get that carried away…"

"Mads," I brushed some hair out of her face. She seemed to relax a little under my touch. "It's okay. You weren't yourself last night; you were upset and angry, and you needed company, and that's okay."

She smiled softly. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Thanks, Rhydian."

"You're welcome. I'm always here for you, you know that. But…right now, I should probably leave."

Maddy put her head back on to her pillow and closed her eyes again, pouting a little. "Do you have to? I'm comfy."

I shouldn't have, because I knew it'd make it harder to pull away, but I put my arm over her waist again. "I do. Sorry, Mads."

"So why are you putting your arm around me again?" Maddy put her arm over me, too.

"I could say the same for you."

"Well _I'm_ doing it because I don't want you to go."

"Well, um…," I started, smirking, "I'm doing it just because I wanted to."

"Naughty you. You're supposed to be leaving. But you're tempting me in to falling back asleep again."

"I thought you didn't want me to leave?"

"I don't." She shuffled closer.

"I have to."

"...I know."

"And you should probably shower before your parents wake up. My scent is probably all over you."

"My room will smell like you too."

"True," I said, "but I could've just come to see you. But the fact _you_ smell like me says something else…"

Smiling, Maddy's cheeks began to blush red a little. "Very true. Okay. I'll go have a shower."

I twirled some of her hair around my finger. "I wish I could come to Blackpool, Mads."

Maddy opened her eyes again and looked right in to mine, frowning deeply. "Don't say that. It makes me feel bad."

"But it's not your fault."

"I know. But I want you to come too."

I shrugged. "Life goes on, I suppose."

Almost hesitantly, Maddy brought her hand up and touched my cheek softly. "Sorry." She whispered.

I held her wrist, smoothing my thumb over her skin. "It's okay." I kissed her forehead quickly and then started to untangle myself from her.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" I asked once I'd stood up and put my jacket on. I turned around to see that she was nodding and pushing herself up so she was sitting with her legs crossed, and she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Yeah."

"I'll be over soon to bring your T-shirt back anyway, once your scent's gone." I flashed her a grin and she grinned back.

"No problem. I'll probably never take this one off to be honest. It's comfy."

My smile softened as I looked at her. The T-shirt really was too big for her, but somehow it made her frame look even smaller than usual. And as she sat there with her hair all messy and eyes still sleepy and my T-shirt keeping her warm, I couldn't take my eyes off her. "You keep it."

"Thanks. Don't mind if I do," then she swung her legs over the edge of her bed, rubbed her eyes one last time, and stood up. "But…I might need you to wear it every now and again to keep your scent on it."

I smirked. "I would say I'd give you another one, but Mrs. Vaughan might start questioning where all my T-shirts have got to."

She laughed and walked towards me, stretching her arms out so she could wrap them around my waist. Her nose was pressed against my shoulder before I knew it and I was putting my face in to her hair.

"Yeah, you really do smell like me," I commented. "Your parents will _freak out_ if they know I stayed here overnight. They might never let me back here again."

"They won't know. If I leave the window open and have a shower with scented shower gel, hopefully it'll have gone…"

"Good luck with that one, Mads."

Maddy hit me playfully on the back, but then she cuddled closer. "Thanks a lot."

"I should go."

"Okay." She sighed, letting me go reluctantly.

"See you later, Mads."

"Bye."

I left a quick kiss on her cheek before letting her go and flashing her one last smile as I went back to the window.

 **Maddy's POV**

As soon as Rhydian left, I opened all the windows in my room and hurried to have a shower before my parents got up. It was way too early to be awake, and it was far too cold to have the windows open, but I didn't want to face my parents' reaction if they smelled Rhydian all over both me and my room.… They would definitely get the wrong idea. And I had a feeling that that wasn't going to help anyone right now. Even the truth of last night didn't seem like a good call.

An hour later, my parents woke up, and they didn't seem to notice Rhydian's scent on me at all.  
Once we'd eaten breakfast, mam told me to go upstairs and get ready to go and pick Tom and Shannon up.

And a few minutes later she knocked on my door as I was sitting at my desk brushing my hair. Luckily, I'd closed my windows a while ago.

I rolled my eyes. "Come in," I said.

The door opened. "Do you know where my—" mam stopped in her tracks and begun sniffing the air. I froze.

"Where's what?" I asked, still sounding snappy. I was still mad at both of my parents for yesterday.

But she didn't reply; instead, her eyes locked on to my bed and she made her way over there. Alarmed, I followed her line of sight only to find that it was leading to Rhydian's T-shirt which I'd taken off and flung on my bed when I was getting dressed.

Mam picked it up and brought it up to her nose. I stood up, trying not to appear anxious. "Why do you have Rhydian's T-shirt?" She asked, turning around with the T-shirt still in her hand and her eyebrows raised pointedly.

"He gave it to me," I tried to swipe it off her, but she pulled it back. "Mam, give it back. You're getting your scent all over it."

She sniffed it again. "Oh, and it stinks of _you_ as well. Why does Rhydian's T-shirt smell like you?"

"Stop interrogating us," I inisted, trying to grab it again.

"I will if you tell us what happened!"

"Mam!" I cried, flashing my eyes. "Will you calm down! I don't know what you _think_ happened—" I really didn't know, "—but it's no big deal. He gave it to me yesterday before he left so that I'd still have his scent here, and I gave him mine too. I slept in it last night. That's it; that's all there is to tell. Now would you give it back to me and leave us alone!" It wasn't a question.

Mam stayed silent for a moment, looking as though she was getting off her high horse, and then she let out a big breath through her nose. Her forehead was wrinkled a little.

"I don't understand what the big deal is, Mam." I reached out to grab the T-shirt, and this time she let me. "And I'm still angry with you. Sleep doesn't erase things."

She took a breath to speak, but then shut her mouth as if she'd thought better of what she was going to say. Questioningly, I raised my eyebrows.

"It's not a big deal," she said, and all of a sudden her voice was quiet and it had lost all of its petulancy. "There's no reason." And then she turned around and walked out.

I stood there in confusion.

Something wasn't quite right. But because I didn't have the energy to argue with my mother right now, and I didn't even want to go out on this day with everyone – especially my parents – if Rhydian couldn't be there, I just left it at that and continued getting ready.

I picked up my phone before doing anything else.

 _'_ _mam saw your tshirt. had a go at me. but I don't think she knows xx'_

 _'_ _sorry:('_

 _'_ _xx'_

 _'_ _i got back just in time. the Vaughans woke up like 10 mins later xxx'_

 _'_ _lucky i didn't hug you for any longer then;)'_

Rhydian and I texted for the rest of the morning until we picked up Shan and Tom, and then it just turned in to me sneaking glances at my phone whenever I could.

I was still mad at my parents. I still wasn't happy with the way things were.

But last night was something I was pretty happy with.

And that would have to be enough; for today at least.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Hi!  
_

 _This is the first Maddian story I've written in first person! Fancied a change :) What did you think of it?_

 _Idk why but i have this headcanon that maddian watch Pretty Little Liars!? I've been wanting to get it in to a fic for ages so here you are :P I've just started watching it (and I don't know what happens so no spoilers please :P) and I loveeee it man. A lot.  
_

 _Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this! It kind of came out of no where, and I don't know how it ended up this long, but I hope you liked it :) I kind of wanted to explore what happens between those two episodes, because in 2.06 we see that Maddy is still annoyed at her parents, but we don't know what happened before they set off for Blackpool. Please do let me know what you think in a review, as reviews really do help with my motivation and inspiration to write :)_

 _Hope you all had a good Christmas! Lots of love to you all._

 _Love :* xxx_


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